DMX tragically passed away last week, but not before recording new music.
Darrin "Dee" Dean of Ruff Ryders and DMX recorded a new project.
"It's sad that he’s not gonna be here, but the music…This album right here is special," Dean said. "Like you probably never heard no music like you heard on this one that we did right now. This is probably one of his great albums. One of the best. It’s a classic, for sure."
X's last album, Undisputed, dropped in September 2012, but he signed a new deal with Def Jam and had been working with Swizz Beatz. He revealed that the guest roster included Pop Smoke, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys and Usher.
X was on life support after a drug overdose that caused a heart attack.
He first jumped on the scene in 1998 with his first album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. The multiplatinum album was backed by hits including “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” “Get At Me Dog” and “Stop Being Greedy.”
X next catalogued four chart-topping albums “... And Then There Was X,” “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood,” “The Great Depression” and “Grand Champ.” He released seven albums in total and earned three Grammy nominations.
DMX also hit the big screen starring in the 1998 film “Belly” and “Romeo Must Die” and teamed up with Aaliyah for the film’s soundtrack song “Come Back in One Piece.”
He then, starred in “Exit Wounds” with Steven Seagal and reunited with Jet Li on “Cradle 2 the Grave”.
Most recently, DMX battled Snoop Dogg during Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's "Verzuz" which in turn got X back into the studio with Swizz to work on a new album.
At the height of Bling in the rap game DMX and Ruff Ryders changed the game and brought New York Hip Hop back to the streets. His raw sound and uneven cadence made his delivery unique and without equal. His voice and music is now and forever engrained in the culture and the industry as a whole is feeling the depths of his loss.
RIP DMX
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